Monday, April 25, 2016

Sigekiya Ramen in Commercenter Alabang

Last April 13, I was invited to try the latest ramen place in the Philippines, Sigekiya Ramen, which is located in Commercenter Alabang.

Sigekiya actually started as a humble ramen shop in Yokohama, Japan that was established in 2010 by Ramen Master Mamoru Sugizaki. It became very popular among the Filipinos living there because of the very delicious taste of its signature Sigekiya Ramen, as well as its tsukemen. Sigekiya is also very popular among Koreans who love the spiciness of the ramen, and of course the Japanese who love its distinct taste.

this is the original Sigekiya Ramen shop in Yokohama

Sigekiya was “discovered” by Filipino Gaylord Gatchalian while he was working in Yokohama way back in 2010. He had a “love at first slurp” with the ramen that he promoted it to his friends and officemates working in Yokohama. Since then, Sigekiya became the favorite ramen shop of most Filipinos in Yokohama.

Two years ago, Miguel Illescas (who is the brother-in-law of Gaylord) was also assigned to work in Yokohama. Miguel became friends with Sugizaki-san as well since he frequented Sigekiya every week to eat ramen and tsukemen. Miguel and Gaylord talked to Sugizaki-san about bringing Sigekiya to Manila and the rest was history.

Miguel with his wife Margarita, Master Sugizaki-san, and Gaylord

Sigekiya actually means “something spicy” so I was relieved that you could choose the spice level that suits you. Personally, I have very low tolerance for spicy food so I told them that I was a Level 1 out of 10. But if you want, you can even go beyond Level 10 (which is already really hot) for a minimal fee... all the way to Level 100!

the different sizes of their bowls

While waiting for our food, we munched on this appetizer which was so addicting. We were surprised to find out it was made of fried gyoza wrappers!

Aside from their ramen, they also serve side dishes like gyoza which is one of my favorites. I love the texture of their gyoza and how it was a bit chewy.

This is their Chashu Sushi. I personally don't eat sushi, so this meat version was a treat for me!

And now finally, the main dish! I was served the Sigekiya Ramen, which is the signature ramen of the house. The soup was rich, the noodles were thick, and the grilled chashu was very flavorful.

This was my son's first time to try ramen and he LOVED it! He kept saying this was his new favorite restaurant and he wanted to eat ramen again. :)

This is the Tsukemen Gyokai, which has a fishy flavor and is topped with fish powder.

This is the regular Tsukemen, without the fish powder. It is also called the dipping ramen since you dip the cold noodles into the steaming hot soup.

Sigekiya Ramen makes its own noodles at their restaurant and all the food preparation is being done on site, similar to how it is being done in Japan. This guarantees that everything is fresh and of high quality. All of the ingredients, except vegetables and pork, are imported from Japan to ensure that it could maintain the original taste of Sigekiya.

Lastly, we were served some Jelly Ace as dessert and I really liked their presentation!

For all you ramen lovers out there, don't forget to ask about their loyalty card in which you could get free ramen or tsukemen once all the 20 boxes have been filled out with stamps.

Anyway, it was a lovely lunch with these ladies. I can't wait to go back especially since I've seen that they've now added more items to their menu like chicken karaage, rice toppings, and korokke (deep fried mashed potato with minced chashu). So if you're looking for an authentic ramen place, look no further than Sigekiya!